WINSTON-SALEM―November 15 officially marked the start of Contest Season for the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Between now and March 1, four annual contests will accept submissions. Winners and finalists will be awarded more than $3,000 in cash prizes. Submission dates and guidelines vary.

Lee Smith, a 2008 inductee of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, is the final judge. The winner of the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize receives $1,000 and possible publication in The Thomas Wolfe Review.

The Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition encourages the creation of lasting nonfiction that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians. Subjects may include traditional categories such as reviews, travel articles, profiles or interviews, place/history pieces, or culture criticism. The first-, second-, and third-place winners will receive $1,000, $300, and $200 respectively. The winning entry will be considered for publication by Southern Cultures magazine.

Submissions for the Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition are open now through January 17. The final judge is Wilmington travel, culinary, and culture writer, Jason Frye.

Author and beloved professor of creative writing Doris Betts, a 2004 inductee of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, is honored each year by the Doris Betts Fiction Prize. This competition opens for submissions on January 1 and closes February 15. The first-place finisher receives $250; up to ten finalists will be considered for publication in the North Carolina Literary Review, which also facilitates this contest.

Guidelines and past winners for each contest can be found on the individual contest pages. Click here for general information on Contest Season and links to the four annual contests.

The nonprofit North Carolina Writers’ Network is the state’s oldest and largest literary arts services organization devoted to writers at all stages of development. For additional information, visit www.ncwriters.org.

Three noted authors will provide instruction and guide participants through a series of writing prompts. Conference attendees and the general public are welcome: admission is free.

“The idea is to get folks excited about writing and to warm up our creative muscles,” said Charles Fiore, Communications Director of NCWN. “That way, we hit the ground running once conference registration opens later that afternoon.”

The event will be facilitated by the following members of the Charlotte Writers’ Club:

Creative Nonfiction with Gilda Morina Syverson: author of the memoir My Father’s Daughter, From Rome to Sicily, scheduled for release in December 2014 from Pegasus Books in conjunction with Divine Phoenix. She is the author of two poetry books, Facing the Dragon and the chapbook In This Dream Everything Remains Inside. She has been teaching memoir classes and workshops for the last fifteen years at Queens University of Charlotte.

Screenwriting with Patrick Lee: author and screenwriter. He wrote the original screenplays James Barry; Night of the Cyclone starring Kris Kristofferson; and Rutanga Tapes. Patrick worked as a journalist and media consultant in South Africa. He is the author of two novels: Discards, published by Penguin SA, and The Flies of August. He currently is working on Concealed Carry, a sequel to The Flies of August.

The North Carolina Writers’ Network 2014 Fall Conference opens at 3:00 pm on Friday, November 21 and runs through Sunday, November 23 at the Sheraton Charlotte Hotel in Uptown Charlotte. Fall Conference offers workshops and master classes in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, lectures and panels on publishing and finding an agent, and the opportunity to have your manuscript reviewed by literary agents and editors.

The Charlotte Writers' Club (or CWC, as their members affectionately call it) provides a great opportunity for writers of all forms—and there are so many—to meet and discuss the latest trends, commiserate on projects, find critique groups, and participate in contests and workshops. This club aims to help writers develop their craft and keep the words coming. The CWC sponsors a wide range of activities that nurture writers, including contests, critique groups, monthly meetings, and periodic workshops. For more information on membership and joining the Charlotte Writers' Club, click on Membership.

A community of writers in-residence and online, the Low-Residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte brings together experienced and emerging writers for intensive seven-day residencies on campus twice a year and connects students and teachers online through the rest of the year as they work on their writing in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. It is designed to benefit committed writers who want to hone their craft without uprooting their lives. With courses of study in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and writing for stage and screen, the MFA program offers an immersive experience over four semesters of intense study and writing.

The Queens University of Charlotte MFA in Creative Writing Program is also an “All-Day” Friday Sponsor and the sponsor of Saturday night’s Annual Banquet featuring the inimitable Wilton Barnhardt.

On-site registration for the North Carolina Writers’ Network 2014 Fall Conference will open Friday, November 21, at 3:00 pm. Click here for conference details.